The Green Girl of NYC
by AlyssaLLBlack13
Summary: The Wicked Witch of the West casts a spell that goes awry, landing her, Nessarose, and Shell in Alphabet City, New York. Collins discovers the strange green girl and her family, and offers them a place to stay. CollinsAngel RogerMimi. Implied FaeBenny
1. To Fall From the Sky

_**Author's Note: Welcome to my Wicked story. This is based heavily on both book and musical, so be warned. If you know one but not the other, this may get confusing. (For example, Nessarose is in a wheelchair like in the musical, but Shell is in the story.)**_

Oz

The green girl pored over a large tome spread in front of her, chanting softly. A winged monkey sat nearby, and a crow rested on the monkey's head. The girl continued to mutter to herself, but was interrupted by a long knocking on her door. "Elphaba? Elphaba, are you in here?"

Elphaba sighed. Her little brother had such a knack for bad timing. "Yes, Shell, I'm here. Come in."

Shell pushed open the door. At fifteen, he was already causing mischief, and his sisters were forced to clean up his messes. He was grinning. "Elphie, guess what?"

"I despise guessing, as you should know. What is it, Shell?"

"Okay, I'll tell you. You'd never have guessed anyway. There's someone here to see you. It's…"

Elphaba held up her hand. "Wait. Don't tell me. Glinda, right?"

Shell's face fell. "How do you always know?"

Elphaba help up an unfurled scroll bearing the loopy signature of Lady Glinda Chuffrey. She smiled. "Call it intuition. Something about be warned about the visit. Is she here?"

"Yes, in the foyer, with Nessarose. Come on, what are you doing that's so important?"

"Nothing. Get Glinda something to drink. I'll be down in five minutes." She turned back to her book.

Shell sighed. "You're never going to bring Fiyero back, you know. Why do you even bother?" A scathing glance from his sister sent him flying from the room.

Elphaba was given less than a minute of silence before Nessarose wheeled in. "Elphaba, you get down here and visit with Glinda this instant. She came to see you, you know."

"I know, but I'm right in the middle of…"

"Elphaba Thropp, if you do not get down there this instant, then so help me Unnamed God, I swear I will…"

"What? You'll what?"

"Oh! You can be so infuriating sometimes!" Nessa turned to leave, and Elphaba continued her chanting. Shell came running up. "Elphie! She's getting ready to come up here herself!"

Elphaba didn't answer. A thick white fog filled the room. Nessarose screamed "Elphie!" and then the room stopped spinning. Elphaba looked up, smiling, but her smile faded as she took in her surroundings. "Nessie, Shell, I don't think we're in Munchkinland anymore. I don't even think we're in Oz anymore." She stood up, took a few steps, and proceeded to slam into a large, dark man.

New York

Collins barely stumbled when the green girl slammed into him. The girl, however, went flying. Without thinking, Collins thrust his pile of ungraded papers and bags of takeout food into the hands of the young man standing nearby and threw out his arms to catch the green girl. He helped her stand. "I'm very sorry, ma'am. Are you alright?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."  
Collins took his pile back from the man's arms. "Sorry about that." He smiled. "I'm Tom. Collins. And you are…?"

The green girl smiled nervously. "Elphaba Thropp. This is my sister Nessarose, and my brother, Shell. Um, where are we?"

Collins chuckled. "New York City. Do you have a place to stay?"

"No."

"Come on. I share an apartment with my girlfriend, and it's kinda small, but my best friends may have room. If not, Mimi still technically owns her loft. You can probably stay there."

"Thank you, but no." Elphaba smiled.

"Why not?"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm green."

Collins stared in shock. "Holy shit, you are green, aren't you? I didn't notice. Should I care?"

"Most people do."

"I'd be a hypocrite if I judged people on their skin color."

"Your friends might care."

"Then they aren't my friends. Come on."

Shell tugged on Elphaba's sleeve. "Please, Elphie? Think of Nessie. She needs somewhere."

Collins thought a moment. "Can you carry her? We don't live in a wheelchair accessible building, but if one of you can carry her, and one can carry the chair upstairs, then we're in business."

Elphaba nodded. "Yes, we can carry her upstairs."

Collins grinned. "Good. Come on, then. My friends'll love you."


	2. Getting to know you

It was eight-thirty. The sky had darkened noticeably. Maureen and Elphaba were already gabbing like best of friends, and Nessa had fallen asleep in her wheelchair. Roger had sized up Shell, decided that he was no competition for Mimi's affections, and had spent the rest of the night on the balcony with a cigarette in his hand, staring at the horizon. After awhile, Elphaba slipped up next to him. "Look, don't worry about it," she said softly.

Roger turned. "What are you talking about?"  
"You're afraid you will say the wrong thing, and I'll get offended. It's not easy to know how to talk to a green girl. But don't worry. It takes a lot to offend me."

Roger shrugged. "Actually, I'm afraid I'll stare. And say the wrong thing. I mean, I don't really care that you're green. Of course, I did see _Wizard of Oz."_

Elphaba chuckled. "What's that?"

"A movie. The Wicked Witch of the West. Really, it was quite stupid, I didn't believe a word they said against the Witch, but it was date night, and it was Mimi's turn to pick the movie, and that's what she wanted to see."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"The Witch was green."

"Oh. So you know about Oz?"  
"Not really. As far as I know, it doesn't exist."  
"But it does. I'm from Oz. And the Wizard, he's real-an evil tyrant. I've been fighting to stop him. That's why they call me wicked. And my lover? The Wizard had him killed."

"Whoa, slow down." Roger smiled. "How hard did you hit your head when Collins ran into you? Maybe you should lie down."

"You don't believe me?"  
"Elphaba, listen to me. I live in New York. I've seen some pretty weird shit. Hell, I've lived through some pretty weird shit. But this? You're asking me to believe in a fantasy land."  
"How else would I be green?"  
"Skin condition, I don't know. Look, I told you, I've seen some really weird shit. For God's sakes, Mark and I found a fucking body last year! But this…"

"Forget it. Why am I talking to you?" Elphaba turned to go.

Roger caught her arm. "Elphaba, **_listen to me!_** I believe you. Against all my better judgment, I believe you. Look, I think what we both need is a good, long night's sleep. Unfortunately, I can't get that. I've got a gig at ten-thirty. Rocky Horror Convention. You get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning." He took a last, long drag on the cigarette before crushing it out on the railing. "I've got to go." Glancing at Mimi, who was sleeping on the couch, he added, "If Mimi asks, I'm at Radio City Music Hall. I should be home around 4 am."

Elphaba nodded. "Right. Have fun."

Roger was already grabbing his guitar. "Get some sleep. I will be being mobbed by thousands of Rocky Horrorettes who are horny for Tim Curry in a dress. Fun." He took off out the door.

Angel jerked up at the sound of the door slamming. "Roger take off?"

Elphaba nodded. "Yeah. Something about curry and a dress and halls."

"Ah. The Horror convention in town. He's been looking forward to that for months, but he'll never admit it. He's a closet Horrorette. You two should sit and talk. You'd love him, if you got to know him."

Elphaba nodded. "Right. I'm going to bed."

"Night."

"Good night."


	3. Mark

_**Author's Note: Okay, I'm throwing yet another shout-out to Sarah. This one is for doing research on skin conditions that can result in greenness, and for helping me to text in class without ever being noticed. That said, thanks to Ione A. Carr, my cousin, who gave me the Horror Convention idea, as well as the term Horrorette, and the idea of Roger being a closet Horrorette. And to my friend Anthony, who proofreads everything for me, and my friend Mark, for helping me to decide which characters live where and are dating whom.**_

"I'm telling you, Mark, she actually believes that Oz exists." Roger hadn't even made it home from the Rocky Horror Convention. He'd dragged himself as far as his sister Alianne's apartment, where Mark was currently living, and crashed on their couch. Mark had offered him a cup of coffee at ten o'clock in the morning, and was being caught up on the details of last night, which he'd had to miss due to Alianne-five months pregnant-having a doctor's appointment. "Mark, I don't care that she's green, you know I don't give a crap about skin color, but she is completely insane."

Mark looked up from the Sunday paper. "Roger, have you ever considered the fact that you aren't exactly open-minded? If she says it exists, maybe it does."  
Roger tried to change the subject. "So, what's today's big headline?"

"Cover page: 'Strange green object and two less strange white ones fall from sky and hit NYU professor on head.'"

Roger snorted into his coffee. "Seriously?"  
"No. The headline is this: 'Rocky Convention Goes Off Without a Hitch.'" He continued reading the article. "'The Rocky Horror Convention, which ended this morning at five am, was a smashing success for NYC economy. Fan Club president Richard Burton made the decision to hire local musician Roger J. Davis, famous for such hits as 'Death Blow' and 'Sometimes (I'd rather not get out of bed)', pulling a lot of support from local Rocky Horror fans.'" You were mentioned. Aren't you excited?"

"I told them to drop the 'J' from my name." Roger chuckled. "Mark, you've become mainstream, my friend. You're reading the _Times_, for God's sake. What are you doing for a living these days?"

"I'm back at Buzzline. Just until the baby comes and Aly can get back to work. Then it's back to my films."

"You, my friend, are one hundred percent un-bohemian. We have to fix that."

"Later. Aly and I want to meet this 'Elphaba.' She sounds interesting."

"She is, mostly. I don't know, Mark, maybe I do have a problem with her skin color."

"Nah, you wouldn't be Collins' friend if you did. Roger, you're too centered in the real world. I mean, I get why, with all the shit you've been through, but that's exactly your problem. You insist on having proof shoved under your nose. She can't prove it, you won't believe in it."  
"Mark, I got straight A's in high school. I was in three years of AP science. I was our fucking class valedictorian. I got my bachelor's degree majoring in music history with a minor in physics. Yes, I like having proof of something if I'm expected to believe in it! Is that a crime?"

"I didn't say it was! But you need to have some imagination sometimes, Roger."

"Do you two mind?" Aly appeared in the doorway-rather, her stomach appeared with her face behind it. "I'm trying to concentrate on deep breathing. The midwife said it was good for the baby." Aly was having a home birthing, and she'd been seeing numerous New-Age midwives and herbalists for the best care possible.

Roger smiled, getting up and embracing his sister. "Sorry, sweetie. We didn't mean to disturb you."  
Aly scowled. "Well, all this negativity is going to seep into the fetus and corrupt it. So if you're going to argue, take it elsewhere."

Roger gently placed a hand on his sister's large belly. "We don't want to corrupt my future niece or nephew, do we?"

"No, we don't." Aly disappeared into her room, closing the door. Mark sighed. "I feel like I should worry about her. She hasn't seen a gynecologist since she found out she was pregnant."

"Leave her be. I should get going anyway. Mimi's going to be worried that I'm not home." Roger picked up his guitar, heading for the door. He turned. "Hey, I'll be sure to pick up a copy of the _Voice_ so at least Aly won't lose her bohemianism!"

Mark threw the discarded sports page at Roger. "Shut up."

Roger chuckled. "Later, Mark."


	4. Heart To Heart

The knock on the bedroom door came much too early for Roger's taste. He groaned. "Who's there, what the fuck do you want, and what time is it?"

"It's Elphaba," a tentative voice replied. "It's eight-thirty."

Roger groaned again. "Go away. Come back later."

"But it's time to be up."

Roger sat up. "What is wrong with this chick?" he asked himself. Then, to Elphaba, he said bitterly, "I stay out until one or two in the morning. I don't generally fall asleep until two or three. Therefore, I typically do not like to be woken up before at least eleven. Now, I'm not saying it again. Go. Away."

"But-"

"Get the fuck away from my door." Roger rolled back over, pulling the pillow over his head. "Unless someone is dying or the loft is on fire, I don't talk to anyone before eleven am. Leave me alone."

Elphaba was undaunted. "Roger, who's the girl with the red hair? She looked sad. Why wasn't she introduced to us?"

Roger sat up slowly. "Come in," he muttered. Elphaba did. Roger had his back to her. "Where did you see this girl, Elphaba?"

"She was standing on the balcony. It was yesterday, before you got home. I went to say hi to her, and she just looked at me. There was pain in her eyes."

"What, exactly, did she look like?" Roger's voice was carefully guarded.

"She was about my height, with red hair, and blue eyes. Her wrists were scarred."

"April," Roger murmured.

"Pardon?"

Roger didn't answer, and Elphaba touched his shoulder. Roger jerked away. "Promise me you won't talk about her again."

"Who is she?"

"She's supposed to be dead. Her name was April. She was my girlfriend, before Mimi. She committed suicide."

"Oh." Elphaba's mouth dropped. "Roger, I'm so-"

"Don't. I'm so sick of people apologizing for it. Just don't talk about her again. I hate talking about her. It's not a pleasant feeling."

"Kind of like the feeling I get when I talk about Fiyero. Your heart aches for her."

"Exactly." Roger looked at her. There was no hostility in his voice, only sincerity. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to him?"

"He died. The Wizard killed him. I was fighting against him, and the Wizard's forces followed him, and they found out he was in cahoots with me, and they killed him." Her voice cracked.

Roger placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I asked."  
"Don't be. You deserved to know."  
Roger smiled. "Well, I guess I'm not going back to sleep. Hey, why don't I get Mimi, Mark and my sister and we can all go out for coffee or something?"

"That sounds fun." Elphaba smiled.

"Great. Just let me go take a quick shower, then I'll call the others."


	5. Coffee Break

"How is it we don't have this stuff back in Oz?" Shell had begged to come along, and Elphaba had made the mistake of allowing him a cup off coffee. He was jittery and hyper.

Roger laughed. "Probably for the reason we typically don't allow kids to drink it."

"I'm not a kid!"

Aly smiled. "You're younger then us, so technically, yes, you are."

Elphaba giggled. "He doesn't listen to reason. Never has."

"Neither do you." Nessarose, like Aly, was sipping tea rather then coffee.

Roger shook his head, looking at Aly. "Did we always fight like this?"

"No, we're twins." Aly sipped her green tea. "Our fights were always way worse."

"Right." Roger drained his coffee. "I remember now. I tried to take your dolls, and you kicked me in the balls."

"Ouch." Elphaba smiled. "So glad there are no twins in my family."

Nessarose looked around the Life Café delicately. "So, this is what you New Yorkers do for fun?"

"No!" Aly giggled, and then winced slightly as the baby kicked. She smiled again. "Only the East Villagers come here, and only the bohemian ones."

"So what all is New York?"

"The East Village-that's us; Westport; Manhattan; Brooklyn; Harlem; Greenwich; and the Theater District. Rich people live west and south. Poor people live north and central. The artsy folk live in the East Village. The bohemians and the druggies live in Alphabet City, where we are. The higher up ones on Avenue A, the ones who can't afford an apartment but live in Benny's building so they get free rent inhabit Avenue B, the druggies, homeless and very poor but still have an apartment live on Avenue C, and no one goes to Avenue D."

"What do the letters stand for?"

"A is Alright; B is Brave; C is Cautious; and D stands for Dead."

"Oh." Nessarose sighed. "I'll make sure to stay away from Avenue D, then."

"Good girl." Roger sighed, looking at his watch. "Oh, I gotta take off. I've got a meeting with a scout in ten minutes. Later guys!"  
Aly pulled herself to her feet. "My midwife is coming to the Loft later. I'll walk Elphaba and her family back."

Elphaba smiled. "Thank you. I just wish your husband could have made it."

"Oh, we're not married yet. We're going to get married after the baby comes. We moved in together because I could afford my own place."

"Oh. Well, I still wish we could have met him."

"Mark had to work today. He'll be by later tonight."

Elphaba placed a hand on Aly's back, helping her stand. "Come on; let's get you off your feet."

Aly nodded. "That would be wonderful. Thank you."


End file.
